The tunnels beneath the Obsidian Outskirts were veins of trophy and decay. Bas led the way, his tower-shield scraping against the tight stone walls, while Lyra kept her blade drawn, her restored Knight-core casting a faint silver glow that made the shadows dance.
Itachi was in the rear. His hand was still numb from intercepting the White Knight's Holy Strike. He watched the wispy black smoke dissipate from his fingertips. It wasn't just mana; it was something rawer. He could feel the math of it—a negative integer slipping into the Board's equations.
"We're close," Bas grunted, his voice echoing. "The base of the Wall has a drainage vent big enough for a Rook. But the moment we breach it, the White sensors will light us up like a signal flare."
"They already know we're here," Itachi said flatly.
Lyra spun around. "What? How? We used the dead zone anomalies to mask our signatures."
"Valerius has the God-Eye," Itachi replied, not slowing his pace. "He doesn't need sensors. He needs probability. He knows a Pawn like me only has one direction: forward. We haven't been hiding. We've been walking into his predictions."
Suddenly, the air temperature plummeted. Lyra's silver light was swallowed by a sudden, unnatural darkness. From the ceiling of the tunnel, a single charcoal-grey feather drifted down, landing in the sludge at Itachi's feet.
Bas raised his shield, his knuckles white. "That's not a White signature."
"No," Itachi murmured, his eyes narrowing as he scanned the darkness ahead. "It's a special piece. A Raven."
A rattling sound, like dry bones dragging on stone, filled the tunnel. The Shadow-Hunter, Krow, materialized from the void. He didn't stand on the floor; he hung from the shadows, his jagged black chain pulsing with a sickly purple light.
"Itachi Thorne," Krow's voice was a whisper in Itachi's very ear, though the figure was ten feet away. "Your moves on the board have been... entertaining. But Prince Valerius requires your presence. You can walk, or you can be dragged."
"Bas, Lyra, keep moving toward the vent," Itachi ordered, his voice unshaken.
"We aren't leaving you with this thing!" Lyra snapped.
"It's not a request," Itachi said. "His chain is a mana-harvester. If you fight him, your cores will be drained before your blades connect. He wants me. And I need to test something."
Bas looked at the boy's calm back, then at the terrifying hunter. With a bitter curse, he grabbed Lyra's arm. "He's got a map in his head, girl. Let's go!"
As his allies retreated, Itachi faced Krow alone. The Raven laughed, a sound like shattering glass. He flicked his wrist, and the black chain snaked out with blinding speed, wrapping around Itachi's throat and chest.
[Warning: Mana Drain Initiated]
[Skill: Stubborn Advance is unavailable under Restraint]
Krow pulled the chain taut, lifting Itachi off his feet. "So much for the Pawn who won't stop. Without your forward momentum, you're just... luggage."
Itachi's face was turning pale, but his eyes remained locked on Krow's mask. A slight, almost invisible smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.
"You made a mistake," Itachi choked out.
"Oh?" Krow tilted his head. "And what mistake could a predator possibly make with his prey in chains?"
"You let your shadow touch mine," Itachi whispered.
Suddenly, the wispy black smoke from Itachi's hand didn't just dissipate. It flowed down the chains like oil, turning the purple energy into a void-black. Itachi wasn't being drained anymore. He was feeding.
[New Skill Awakened: Shadow Syphon]
[Rank Upgrade Progress: 12%]
Krow's laughter died. He tried to release the chain, but it was stuck to Itachi's body as if welded. For the first time, the hunter felt a flash of something he hadn't felt in years.
Fear.
"My turn to observe," Itachi said, his voice suddenly resonating with the power of the void.